US troops killed in plane crashes skyrockets in 2017

So far this year, there have been 22 U.S. military non-combat plane crashes flying routine operations. That’s up 38 percent from this time last year.

The number of American troops killed in these plane crashes has more than doubled. Following the announcement by the 7th Fleet Thursday night that it has ended its search for three missing American sailors hundreds of miles off the coast of Japan, the number of U.S. service members lost to plane crashes in 2017 stands at 37. That is more than 130 percent higher than the number killed in non-combat plane crashes at this point in 2016.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has testified before Congress, arguing that “no enemy in the field has done more to harm the combat readiness of our military than [budget cuts].”

US troops killed in plane crashes skyrockets in 2017

First off, if this is in the wrong forum please move. Second this is not about politics, I don't believe in that, please keep that out of this thread.

What is going on with the US military. All the ship collisions and airplane crashes. The problems at nuke bases. Who knows what other problems the military is having that we do not hear about because it is Above Top Secret

Is it really about the budget or is it something worst, like the culture that has changed. A lot of policy changes were made in the last 8 years or so by the commander in chief and I am not just talking about the budget. The military has been pushed to be PC. Or could it even be something more sinister? Has the military been infiltrated? Is the military being sabotaged from within? Is the military being hacked?

Will an increase in military spending fix the obvious problems the military is having. With the increased combat missions the military is being asked to carry out with less money. I can see how that would have a negative effect on US military equipment and moral.

As you can see a lot of questions, anyone have the answers?

a reply to: LookingAtMars

They just use old and broken crap.

Its a wonder more Marines dont die or get hurt. They get all the hand me downs.

a reply to: LookingAtMars
The thing is when you're dealing with small numbers talking about percentages is sort of silly.


If there was one incident last year and two this year, why, that's a 100% increase.

So what do we have here? A massive 38% increase! From 16 crashes to 22. Skyrocket?

Yes, that's 22 too many. Is some sort of trend? Probably not. But how many flights are made each year? What percentage result in crashes? That might be a more meaningful number.

a reply to: tadaman

I left active duty in January of 2016. In the time since I've lost 4 soldiers to training related accidents.

After Arrowsmith 35 got blown out of the sky in Afghanistan in December of 2013, 14 soldiers, good friends of mine, have died in non-combat incidents.

Most of them were not flying on older birds. But I can tell you the op tempo for aviation units DOES NOT CHANGE whether deployed or not. I did a little over 9 months in Afghanistan, flying 350 missions in that time. When I got back, instead of going on leave, I spend another month flying around Kansas for currency training, and maintenance evals on 30 new aircraft. Those are 16 hour days or more and it isn't even combat. THEN we took TWO WEEKS of leave.

That was the only time I ever took leave in the Army the entire time I was in.

That's what our troops are dealing with. 16 years of war and a never ending constantly elevated op tempo.

a reply to: Phage

Yes, that is a good point. The OP is talking about more than just non-combat plane crashes though.

Not enough military budget to do maintenance.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Accident rates, whether we're talking military or civilian aircraft, are going to fluctuate. Last year (2016, not last fiscal year), the Marines lost something like 10 Hornets, an AV-8B, 2 CH-53s and an MV-22. This year, they lost a tiny fraction of that. I don't have the numbers off the top of my head, but it's something like 2 or 3 aircraft.

Some accidents are just people that are tired making mistakes, others are maintenance related as aircraft get more and more behind on scheduled maintenance. And some, as in the case of the C-2 accident, just break.

thanks Obama.